This one had me on a bit of a rollercoaster. At first, I was intrigued—there were hints of something deeper brewing beneath the surface, and the worldbuilding had potential. Then things started picking up and I found myself thinking, Okay, yes, I’m into this. The dynamics were clicking, and I was ready for the story to really burn.

But then…the ending. It just didn’t land for me. It became so predictable that I caught myself just coasting through the final chapters, waiting for the inevitable to unfold. It wasn’t bad—it just didn’t surprise me. I wanted a twist, a moment that made my jaw drop, and instead it felt like watching a rerun of a show you’ve seen a few times too many.

Still, if you’re in the mood for a quick fantasy fix with familiar beats and a decent slow burn, it might still be worth the ride.

4 Stars

This book was a bit of fresh air after reading so many dragon books. Its probably not far off from dragons, but I did really appreciate the phoenix take. This book doesn't hold back either, you are dropped straight into an intense and heartbreaking race. Learning who the characters and seeing some of their dynamics straight out of the gate.

I really liked how the book touched on the different phoenix types and how they have their own traits. This was the same for the characters they were all a bit different and their own dept in them. I really enjoyed watching the two main characters grow and become closer to each other. It also had a trope that I really enjoy in contemporary romance books.

The pacing of this book is pretty well done as well. There are times that it does lag or go too fast but overall its well done.

I look forward to continuing with this series and reading more from Mikayla Bridge in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

4.75 rounded up to 5 stars!!

This book was everything! It delivered on every aspect from the characters to the world to the phoenix racing itself and far exceeded my expectations.

Right off the bat we're dropped into a phoenix race. We immediately are introduced to arguably our two most important characters, Kel and Savita (her phoenix). From there, everything just takes off flying. The plot moves forward at an incredibly fast rate, which for me was a real strength of this book. It never felt like things were moving too fast or that we weren't spending enough time in a certain moment which I think speaks a lot to the pacing of this book. Furthermore, the deeper you get into the book the more fun, intrigued and of course romance you get which keeps you wanting to turn the pages faster and faster.

To quickly speak on our main lovebirds (not of the phoenix variety) I would like to say that I think this was much more of a dislike to love relationship rather than enemies to love but I don't fault the author for that. We also get a little bit of fake dating thrown in there which just makes me love it all the more!!

Overall, I really enjoyed all the character dynamics and the found family aspect that came to fruition. Kel and Coup were so fun to read about and it was so entertaining to see their relationship grow! Additionally, I loved learning about the different parts of the world and the different mythical creatures that reside on the respective islands. I would also be remiss to not mention our semi crazy scientist and the surprise twist near the end of the book that makes you question everything you just read in the best way possible!

In the end I think Mikayla Bridge did such a great job bring this world to life and I truly can't wait to see where we go next!

Thank you to NetGalley, Mikayla Bridge, and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) for access to the eARC before the July release date! I truly recommend picking this one up!

If you love a fast paced racing novel with high tech gear and mythological creatures you’ll love this. I loved the phoenixes, but the storyline was kinda of meh for me. For the right crowd I’m sure that this is an amazing YA book, just not for me.

Of Flame and Fury starred off a little slow but did pick up quickly. I enjoyed the underlying themes on animal preservation and compassion. This book reminded me of Fireborne meets Crown of Feathers. I enjoyed the book and I will be continuing the series and recommending to my students

I like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing this book as a 'Free Read' for a limited time.

I grabbed this one because I liked the idea of Phoenix racing, a team looking to rebuild, and a romance from rivals to lovers.

In this, we are introduced to a world in which magic and technology exist side by side. That creatures like phoenix's are as deadly and scary as a lion or a tiger. There are a group of individuals who want to capture and test them for their powers; a group that wants to save them. The racers fall in between, they neither want to kill or preserve them, just want to race and see how far they can take their team to the finish line.

Our female lead is from a family that wanted to save them but also study them as well. Her grandfather ended up with one of the eight types of phoenix's and when it hatched it became hers. As she grew up, and her father and grandfather died (father due to an accident with a phoenix, her grandfather old age), she is settled with debt and decides to use the phoenix in races. Her team is okay, could be better, and our story begins when her newest racer is killed during a race.

We meet the love interest, who is also racing in the same race. He is daring, rebellious, prideful, and cocky. He irritates the female lead because she feels he hardly does anything but succeeds in so little time. His stunt that gets him to cross the finish line is what ejects him from the team, so he and his handler-brother are asked to be the new racer of our female lead's team.

That is how our story begins. We are introduced to a sponsor who our female and male leads team up with to get money to help others besides themselves. There is hesitancy regarding the company and if what they're doing is the right thing (hint: it isn't), but they wanna race. So race they do. Soon enough the races become dangerous and things aren't what they seem to be.

I rated it down a star because while the book was pretty solid, the government info-structure and the link to the plague / virus / illness isn't really touched upon much and makes the last act of the book confusing to me. The female lead ends up with the illness and totally forgets that she met someone / hung around with someone / has gaps in her memory. I still am unsure about the virus, where it came from, how it was discovered, and what it has to do with the story. I am also confused on what the planet and its neighboring worlds / locations look like as well. I'm also a little lost on if there is a president and or king / queen? From the way the book ended, we are introduced to a radical group who want to rebel against those who are harming the phoenixes.

The romance was good, a great sense of maturity from the characters given their ages (17 & 20), and it was fun watching them develop. The supporting characters were good, too. I sense the second book will give them more to do.

All in all, a great book for teens looking for something Forumla1-esque but not quite.

I'm feeling all sorts of emotions after finishing this book...I'm glad I finished this one before bed so I can take the night to process those highs and lows. This is Mikayla's debut, and she absolutely nailed it!

The book is an easy read, and chapter 1 immediately pulled me in! Perhaps we could have had more world-building, but there's enough to follow along, so it doesn't confuse the reader or detract from the story.

The tropes include enemies to lovers, but it's not entirely... I don't want to spoil anything, because there is a deeper, valid reasoning. But suffice it to say you're also dealing with a couple of 17-year-olds who haven't had an easy childhood, and she's grumpy while he's sunshine. So even though I struggle to call it enemies to lovers, that didn't take away at all from my enjoyment of the story!

And those couple plot twists at the end!! Eek! Those were so well executed. The whole last couple chapters I was sad, irritated, hopeful, tearing up, and that very end.... Ugh! I thought it was beautiful...

Our Netgalley copies didn't have the completed epilogue yet. And honestly it could end at chapter 54 and let our imaginations run wild. But I am excited to see the epilogue after publication! Aaaaand I really hope we get a book 2!

Reader notes:
-- Drinking at age 17
-- Kissing, some touching (not private areas)
-- LGBT side characters

Thank you so much to Mikayla and Netgalley for the chance to ARC read this book! I really enjoyed it!

I can see this one being a popular book, but it just wasn’t for me. I had a few issues with pacing and plot, but as a whole, it’s going to be a great fit for a lot of YA Romantasy readers.
Issues I had:
- they are making out…in a jail cell?
- random slow and then panic in pacing
- characters are so hard to get attached to, feel very generic
- random amnesia thrown in at the very end

Of Flame and Fury is an exciting, action packed story.

Kel is a phoenix trainer. Along with her teammates and phoenix Savita, Kel is part of the racing team, The Howlers. To keep her phoenix and the farm where she was raised, her teammates needs to place high in the next race. Unfortunately, in order to win, Kel must work with Coup, the brash yet talented rider recently booted from his last team. But when the rich owner of Cristo Industries reaches out to Coup and Kel, offering to sponsor the team if they agree to help with their research, all gas a hard time refusing. But the stakes are higher than they thought, and the risks more devastating. Kel and Coup need to get out of this agreement with their team - and lives.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I thought this was a fun twist on the sports romance trope - they are racers and teammates, but with magical phoenixes, and races that are high stakes and lethal. Kel and Coup are rivals, and their heated exchanges were amusing, and their inevitable relationship was definitely satisfying. The story about the chronic and fatal illness AB was interesting, especially the connection to the phoenixes. It definitely lended a tragic twist to the story. I wish the eARC had the epilogue, because the story ended on a wild note, and I definitely need to know how this all wraps up. Overall this was an enjoyable story.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

i LOVED THIS SO MUCH I HAD TO REQUEST THE AUDIOBOOK SO I DIDNT HAVE TO STOP READING. THIS IS THE BOOK OF THE SUMMER

Thanks to NetGalley for an arc for my honest review. What an action packed good time! Such a good debut from this author, defensively excited for more in the future. I was intrigued to begin with but it was even better than I expected. The racing of the phoenixes was action packed and ended with a tear jerker. I really enjoyed and recommend this fantasy with a sprinkle of romance.

6⭐️ WOW! What a beautiful and unique story. This book took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions and I loved every minute of it. The plot was unique and intriguing even from the very beginning. Absolutely loved everything about this book.

Of Flame and Fury is a fantasy story about phoenixes, racing, and the lengths one would go to, to protect their family.

FMC Kel (short for Kelyn), is part of the Phoenix racing team, the Crimson Howlers, where they race Savita (Kel's Phoenix), in CAPR races. These races can be extremely brutal, often resulting in injury or death to the phoenix riders, but Kel has a dwindling bank account, and has no choice but to keep racing in the hopes her team can win money, and she can at least maintain Sav's aviary. In a slew of unfortunate events, Kel has no other option but to take an offer of employment from a tech mogul that her father had always told her to steer clear of. MMC Warren Coupers, aka Coup, and his brother, weasel their way onto the Howlers after getting kicked of another team themselves, so join Kel and Davita at Cristo Industries. Coup does happen to be on of the best riders out there, although a bit reckless.

Every day that the team is at Cristo Industries, Kel is just waiting for the other shoe to drop, knowing there has to be something nefarious going on.

The book starts off with action right from the beginning, and the action rarely lets up! I think this story is really unique, I have never read a book about phoenixes like this, and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed that this is a fantasy, but the humans are all just humans, the creatures are the fantasy element here. I really felt for Kel as she battles the internal struggle of wanting what is best for Savita and other phoenixes, while also collaring and subjecting them to these horrible races, because she has had no other choice. ""Maybe if we'd never collared phoenixes, we could've learned from them..."" but this story follows human nature, wanting to control the fantastical not understand or appreciate it, only to use it and abuse it. Kel and the Howlers start to discover their benefactor while seemingly kind and caring on the outside, has much darker plans in store, born out of a desperation to help cure the disease that runs rampant in the world of this story. What will Kel do to save her family from certain death? You have to read to find out!!

Some fave quotes:
"...Kel could see that Savita's feathers weren't stirring mere colors into the air-she had become flame"

"Kel huffed and stepped back. Maybe if he cracked his skull, some of the arrogance might leak out."

"It took everything inside of Kel not to buckle to the floor. The kiss heated her blood more than his words ever had."

"Somewhere, in the buried crevasses of her heart, Kel knew that Savita was a wild beast. She'd known it from the first time she'd seen the phoenix."

Thank you so much to Netgalley, and the author for a copy of this book!

Of Flame and Fury was a high octane, fast-paced YA fantasy where phoenix racing is the lifeblood of Cendor. The races were intense, dangerous, and absolutely thrilling; they had me completely captivated.

The found family aspect of this book was so good. The Howlers are a ragtag bunch of misfits who all have secrets and hidden pasts, but they find acceptance with each other. I loved the rivalry between Kel and Coup. She initially loathes him and his cocky, overconfident, and flirty attitude. But after they were forced to become teammates and work together to race Savita, they slowly became friends. My favorite parts were when they had to pretend to go on dates for publicity, and Coup loved it and it drove Kel crazy. Behind the scenes, there is a huge conspiracy going on that threatens Kel, the phoenixes, and all of Cendor, and that added another element of danger and intrigue to the story.

While I loved the phoenix racing, I needed a lot more world building, context, history, and explanation of Cendor, the gods and religion, why they race phoenixes in the first place, and what the deadly disease of AB is and what its symptoms look like. The characters needed more depth, and I would’ve liked more buildup to Kel and Coup’s relationship as well.

In the end, I really enjoyed the phoenix racing, the found family, and the overall plot of the book and will read the next one to find out what happens. It was narrated by Safiyya Ingar and she did a great job giving each character a distinct voice, which brought them and their story to life.

Thank you to Fierce Reads, Macmillan Audio, Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, Macmillan, Mikayla Bridge, and NetGalley for the ARC and ALC.

📔Of Flame and Fury
✏️ Mikayla Bridge
📆 July 15, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️

READ IF YOU LIKE:
🐦‍🔥 deadly phoenix racing
🐦‍🔥 magical creatures
🐦‍🔥 rivals to reluctant teammates
🐦‍🔥 sketchy billionaire
🐦‍🔥 conspiracies and intrigue
🐦‍🔥 found family
🐦‍🔥 unhinged cult

I thought the premise of this book was so cool. Phoenixes are one of my favorite mythological creatures to read about and they don't nearly get the love that they deserve. So when I saw Of Flame and Fury had them as the highlight I was sold.

This novel shines when it comes to the phoenix races. I could have read an entire book on that alone. I liked the descriptions, the obstacles, and teamwork of the racing crew. I also liked when "The Fume" came onto the scene and would have loved to see them incorporated more into the story. I also didn't see the plot twist coming, so kudos to Bridge for pulling that off.

I think one of my biggest problems with this book was that there was too much going on, leaving none of it well executed. I was left wanting more in terms of world-building and the magic system didn't feel very well fleshed out. The romance didn't feel believable because it felt like we spent hardly any time with the characters getting to know each other. I also wanted more on the pandemic plot, but maybe that will be addressed in future installments.

I think that this will find its home with romantasy readers, so I encourage lovers of the genre to try it out for themselves. It was just unfortunately a miss for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thought this was just about thrilling phoenix races. NOPE. it was so much more than that. What a glorious debut.

this book didn't let anyone catch a breath omg. we're going straight into the heat in the middle of a phoenix race that soon turned into a tragedy: The Howlers, Kel's team, lost their rider. without a rider they can't compete in the next race, while Kel desperately needed the prize money to maintain her farm. unfortunately her only way out was to join forces with Coup, a cocky insufferable rider whom she despised so much. but THEN her house was burning, so for the sake of Savita, she took a job from a shady tech company, under the condition that her entire team also go with her.

I devoured this in less than 24 hours. it was fast-paced, somehow felt equally exhilarating and distressing. I lived for Kel & Coup's dynamics!!!! loathed rivals to reluctant team mates to lovers that was nicely executed. not too much, just enough to balance the intense plot. the Howler's found family, though they teased each other a lot, was wholesome. though the only phoenix that constantly appeared was only Savita, the depiction of her was thorough and the other phoenixes also seem fascinating enough.

at this point, it all sounds good! why's the distress? well i did mention "shady" tech company, that's the main source of my (and the characters's) distress. my adrenaline was legit pumping, heart was pounding, until i finished the book, and i thought, wow. what a book. only after my adrenaline wore off i could notice the minor things that could be improved: the ending felt a bit rushed and not concluded neatly. i wished at least the epilogue were longer just so there's more room to tie all the loose ends.

overall this is an amazing debut. can't even believe that this is a DEBUT. reminded me a lot of The Phoenix Keeper by S.A MacLean, even the taglines are similar ("love burns bright" vs falling in love never burned so bright"). loved them both!

What a fun premise! Of Flame and Fury delivers high stakes and high emotions. The races were really well done and the phoenixes were fascinating.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

This was such a fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled ride. Phoenixes, racing, betrayal, enemies-to-reluctant-teammates? I’m in. Kel and Coup’s dynamic had me hooked from the start (equal parts tension and chaos), and the world of phoenix racing is just so cool. It’s definitely more plot-driven than romance-heavy, but that worked for me.

Of Flame and Fury is one that I was super excited for, I mean it’s pitched as Fourth Wing meets Iron Widow and I loved both of those books!

This book starts off with a bang and it doesn’t let up. This is definitely an action packed story filled with found family, betrayal, secrets, phoenix riding and so much more. I loved the dynamic between the Howlers and the racing aspect was so intriguing. There was also a huge twist that I didn’t see coming.

Also, I’m going to need that epilogue asap!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), and NetGalley for providing me with an audio copy and kindle copy of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I'm always a sucker for a new fantasy. And a new fantasy that has Phoneix's as it's main magical creature? Sign me up! I went in with a lot of hope I would love this book and, while I wasn't blown away by this book, I really enjoyed it.
Safiyya Ingar is a new narrator for me. I always worry with new narrators that I will be turned off and not enjoy the book as much as I would have had I read it in print, but Ingar surprised me. I liked her voice and I think she captured the main character very well. She also did the various supporting characters very well.
I was shocked to find out this was a debut book for Bridge. It was written really well. The plot was easy to follow and the pacing was just the right amount of push I needed to tear through it. Bridge infused lots of action along with important scenes where the characters find themselves and learn about trusting others. The suthor took everything you may love about racing and infused it with magic and magical creatures. Not only are Phoenix's the main magical creatures in this book but you also see some sprites!
I saw in the blurb this book was compared to Fourth Wing but I didn't really get that vibe. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed it, but it's not centered around academics in any way and that is a huge part of FW. I can see where there is some sameness when it comes to creatures racing and the powers they have but that's about where the comparison stops for me.
This is a true YA fantasy. The voices of the characters are every bit their 17 years. They form a found family with each other as a team. I love books about found families so this was nice for me to see. I loved the bonds they formed and the love you could feel between them all. A bunch of misfits who found each other just when they needed someone.
The book certainly ends with not so much a cliffhanger but open enough that you know another book is on its way so you can see the story wrapped up well.
So why didn't I give this 5 stars? I just needed a bit more world building to happen. Did I understand the world? Yes, enough to know what was going on. But I felt like there was something missing. I needed more background on the phoenix's and their magic. Since it plays a significant part especially towards the end of the book, I would have liked to have understood it just a bit better. I also didn't feel the chemistry for the romance. I loved the idea of enemies to lovers but the slow build up was not what I needed to have it make sense to me.
This book is filled with many moral dilemmas: choosing right over wrong, showing animals are worth protecting, and trusting your gut instinct when you feel someting is not as it should be.
Overall, I'll definitely continue on with this series as I need to know how things get resolved. A very solid debut for Mikayla Bridge.